Shaker loader



Nov. 11, 1952 c.. N. BEBINGER SHAKER LOADER 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 25, 1947 lo m Q /\m\ @w m v wwwlhvwnmwm nmnmsf. .pf, M U .www n. M Mn nn n unnnMn nmmwmmwlwmlmnnwuomn j mmmq n wnnnm." n .n n n .nwwmn r. A l M U WFH n n IINPIHIIJ IHJIIL 4 Q.\ n n E wfwmnwmw nwnmn mwm MW-NUE N \%m.., NW nnn H. lunhn nnnnn am. .humm mw v .Wb hh. ,%\\%M.\N%\ w n n. F\ I NAW@ w www mm NOV-11,` 1952 c. N. BEBINGER 2,617,514

-r SHAKER LOADER Nav. 11, 1952 c. N'. BEBNGER 2,617,514

SHAKER LOADER Filed Feb. 25, 1947 l v 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 `Iz'g 3 s /I/ 'f' v v 1'/ /5 6 4 l/ l TI TI /IL L I bil" Inl Ill 4 v 7a WWWZW: fs jllezzyen Nqv. 1l, 1952 c. N. BEBlNGx-:R vSHAKER LoAbER 4' sheets-sheet 4 f Filed Feb. 25,` 1947 SFI:

AdM-Mam 2 e229 Patented Nov. 11, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT" GFFICE.

SHAKER LOADER;v

Charles Newton; Bebinger,- NewC Philadelphia Ohio assignor. to J oy ManufacturingY Company, af corporation ci. PennsylvaniaI Application February 25, 1947,Seria l N o. 734];67-2

This invention: lrelates to :apparatus for transferringVL coal or like` materialv to ya: traveling-con'-` veyor belt,-.shaker conveyor line, -chain conveyor, pit cars, or the like.

Shuttle cars are used in= trackless mines. to transporthcoal from the-workingL facesto continuouslymovinglconveyor beltsor other conveyeor systems, or to cars by which the coal is car caused to discharge onto'. the conveyor belt. at aratesucientl'y reduced' to avoid overloading of the belt;Y when it is the sole car delivering tothe belt, there willv be overloadingA of the belt-'L if at some other discharge point.4 thereto anothery shuttle car delivers to` the belt coalv at aY rate sufcient'topile up'the ycoal too high onna portionof vthe beltfal-ready loaded nearly tofcapacity. byfthe Erst.. shuttle car. Accordingly, to secure elcientuse of'equipment, it is necessary to provide for the di'schargeof coal'from the shuttlecar'at its normal, rapid rate, butto transferthe coal thussrapidly-unloaded from the` shuttle car at airatesuoh that,y under all the conditions that air-ectthe operation of the beltl conveyor; ortho-like,` the latterfshall noty be overloaded;

Itis also important in mining to avoidasmuch;

as possible the taking' of bottom and the shoot-v ing'of top' to providehead room. In the use ofy shuttle carsJ in conjunction with belt conveyorsV ithasin the past been common to shoot topover the-last piece on a butt entry belt conveyor and to build a ramp overthetail piece andto have shuttle cars'discharge,l by means of the-ramp, directlyonto'the belt conveyor,v and it would accordingly ber desirable to avoid the expense of shooting top and/or bottom and of-constructingV ramps; especially'since' each shuttle carsectionhas 'to' be, moved up at relatively frequent interL vals-say'every couple of weeks:

Itis further important to have equipment that has t'o be taken underground and set up at" aa point' of use, of .light weight; constructed ofY relatively readily handleable component elements, and. to have it capable, after assemblyg'of being moved; as. miningV progresses, readily without.

having to be disassembled again.

16; Claims.. (Cl. 198,-14) f.

Low.. cost'V isir also: obviously' desirable; yas-falsol` simplicity; of construction; and; apparatus; which;v

shall notfrequire the .cdnstant presence of ;a; n;\.op erat'cr4 ishighly. preferable..

advantageous..

Again. sincethe.` number of; feeder statonsgfona single beltcconveyormay vary ywidely',and1.111.155.s

change. fromv tim-exto time.; the, capaci-ty toelect. adjustmentiof. 'the rate of" discharge onto-;the.belt, conveyor. is.: highly. 'importa-nt. FiorV example it twononveyorfloaders.have been in operation; .and.

two zmorei. are .'added,y the; conveyor ',belt. wouldVbeoverloadedi-ffalll four.; feeder units were; to. dis? charge tozit: at: thezsame-time and-.at*thegindividfl ual. rates; previouslyl found satisfactory for. the two units.; wherefore: a; limitati'onf-areductionf-z in thezrateof discharge or the two units.A andar restriction; in the discharge ratesofA the.4 addedA units would; evidently b e; importan-t..

Itisamolg the-objects ofy this invention to nro?. vide an improved apparatus for transferring-coal@ from a mine. shuttlecar toa. conveyor beltfor pit; cars; aty any desired-rate,A one,l which. can: reeceive the-,coal from:theshuttle.cars' as fast as:

they canrdischargeftheir loads, ,one which-is of a;

heightlow enough to be usable in1 most lowseam;

, mines; and', one.- which can be readily"r takenintd thexminezand set up, and whichcanbeyreadily.` moved' as conditions require;

Specincallm; itt is` an object of-A the` invention to: provide ani-.improved shaker loader: Another..y

' object; isto. provide-,an improvedfshaker loader of;

improved; knock-down* construction. A." further; object isfto provide; an improved, shaken loadery having' improved; meansy incorporat edfy therein vfor regulating thefrat-e; atwhich it'` :feeds its` contents', received .periodicallyatv a; relatively high rate andiinrelatvely large unit quantities; to apparatus for delivering thematerialg,y Still` another object of`my invention isto provide-an improvedfshaker feederfhavinganimprovedzconr struction v whereby itis adapted:'eitherA` for. close, coupling or connection throughV an extended'z.. trough'line to a` shaker motion-impartingL drive:

mechanism.. Yetlza. further object sitbr` provide? animproved shaker feeder having, improved supe-- porting and movingf arrangements. Other ob.- jects and.' advantages1 of. this .invention .will here.- inafter appear.

As` will 'shortlymore fully. appear.; a..coal.:iree. ceivingv4 body may beV supportedl forf reciprooatory movement-as` by ball frames soy mountedi asi.' toV Apparatus; capable of operating. in dips `orfflcw places in theimineandwhose. operation will. not r bei rendered; unsatisa. factory byreasonof the .presenceof water is;-als0,;

facilitate changes in position of said body. The body may desirably include main body and forward or throat portions, the latter connected in use to discharge, generally through one or more trough sections, to a belt conveyor line or some other coal moving apparatus. The connection between said main body and throat sections may be a hinged one, allowing for relative angular adjustment, or a rigid one. The main body portion may desirably be constructed and arranged to facilitate the discharge upon it of a shuttle car, which may be moved to position its delivery end in overlapping relation with said body, the wall or walls of said body portion being desirably cut away or initially formed to make easily possible the overrunning of a portion of said body by the shuttle car, to an extent such that the discharging material from the car will fall in a desired position upon said body. Desirably, said forward portion and also'A said body portion will have wall portions thereon extending transversely to the length of said body, and so angled relative to such length as to give to the coal, when there is relative movement between said wall portions and said coal such as to cause forcible contact between them, a thrust towards the center line of said body, and desirably, when there would otherwise be corners between relatively vertical upright bounding walls and relatively horizontal walls constituting a floor, corner plates will be provided on an inclination so that they shall prevent packing of wet fines, and impart a lifting, centering action to the coal. Motion will be imparted to the contents of the body by means for imparting to the body relatively slow and relatively uniform forward movements in alternation with relatively sharp rearward movements, as by means of an independently powered shaker conveyor drive connected to said throat section or to the pan or trough line to which the forward end of said body is secured, or by a drive of like characteristics securing its power through a bell crank actuated by a transversely extending shaker conveyor line or from the rearmost guide roller of a belt conveyor, as, for example, when the shaker feeder is in alinement with and overlaps the end of the belt conveyor to which it delivers coal. Desirably, the forward section of the body may include a trough section having in it a gate or choke plate upwardly adjustable about a horizontal transverse axis for the purpose of providing means for controlling delivery rate, but control of the rate offeeding of coal from the coal receiving body will also be designed into the feeder, in the shaping of the side plate portions, which perform the combined functions of preventing spillage over the sides of the body and of thrusting the coal towards the center line of the body as the passage of the coal therefrom provides space to receive the coal from the sides of the body, or by the provision of other devices for laterally diverting the coal; and feed rate control may also be secured by angling of the forward body portion relative to the main body portion. Desirably, the bottom of both portions of the body may be covered partially or wholly with plates provided with projections shaped to facilitate their rearward movement beneath the coal and to cause their forward movements to impart thrusts to the coal in a forward direction.

In the accompanying drawings, in which, for purposes of illustration, a preferred embodiment and a modification of the invention are shown:

Fig. -l is a plan view of an embodiment of the presently preferred form of the invention, show- 4 ing the same loading onto a belt conveyor line.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the structure of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 isa side elevation showing the feeder arranged as it is when close connected to the shaker drive mechanism,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section on the plane of the section line 4-'4 of Fig. l, through the forward portion of the body, showing it in hinged connection with the main body portion and with an adjustable gate for feed rate regulation.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the material receiving body.

Fig. 6 is a perspective View, looking forward, of the shaker loader body.

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section on the plane of the line lof Fig. 5, showing the means for guiding the body during shaking movement. m

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical section on the plane of the section line 8--8 of Fig. 5, showing a portion of the ball frame mounting for the rearward end of the body.

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view showing a shuttle car in delivery relation to the shaker feeder and the latter discharging to a belt conveyor line.

Fig. l0 is a fragmentary plan view and Fig. 11 is a fragmentary side elevational View of a modified construction in which the shaker feeder is driven from the tail end of a belt conveyor line.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged plan view similar to Fig. 5 showing a modified form of material receiving body.

Fig. 13 is a side elevational View of the material receiving body 'shown in Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a front end View of the material receiving body shown in Figs. l2 and 13.

Fig. l5 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing drive of the shaker feeder through a bell crank from a transversely extending shaker conveyor line to which the feeder discharges.

Referring to the drawings, and i'lrst to Figs. 1 to 9 thereof, a coal-receiving body, generally designated I, is formed of two principal portions, a main bodyV portion 2 for receiving material from a shuttle car, and a forward or throat portion 3 for connectionwith, and for the delivery of coal to, a shaker conveyor pan or trough line 4. The pan line 4 is shown as extending to a belt conveyor line 5, upon which it is adapted to discharge, but could obviously discharge to other suitable devices; and is shown as actuated by a shaker conveyor drive mechanism 6, which may be, for example, of a construction such as is illustrated in my patent application Serial No. 715,526, led December 1l, 1946. The pan or trough line, and the ball frames 'I which support it for reciprocatory movement, are of conventional construction, and the length of the pan line is extensible as need occurs for moving the loading station-the point at which shuttle cars unload their coal-upon the body l. The body l is supported and guided for longitudinal reciprocatory movement by suitably positioned ball frame l', whose upper portions 9 are secured to the bottom of the body I, while their relatively movable lower portions lil are mounted upon skid plates Il so that the body -l may be slid over the mine bottom upon the skid plates Il, when bodily movement thereof is called for, as by being hauled by a shuttle car.

In order that the body I may be gotten into the mine without undue difculty, its forward gempregportion A3ismad'edetachable from the mainibo'dy portion 2"*and the latter is desirably made up' of two'sections I2 and I3, each constituting a lateral half of the body portion 2 andsecured rigidly with respect to each other by bolts I4 engaging with-nutsl I5 welded to transverse channel irons I6 extending transversely beneath the bottom plates I1 of the main body vportion 2. Each of the body sections I2 and I3 carries at its forward enda section of a piano type hinge structure I8, and? the rearward end of the frontV section 3 is provided 'with a coacting hinge structure I9 which is secured ininterltting relation with the hingestruoture on the body sections. I2 and I3 by pin means 26;

The. forward portion 3 consists of a progressively narrowing body section 2I and a discharge passage section 22 rigidly connected together so that they pivot as a unit on the line of the axis offthe hinge pin 29'; and the. discharge passage section is supported on a ballv frame 1", also skidmounted as at I'I.

With the body construction described and shown, it is contemplated that the shuttle car shall vmove into discharge relationship to the shaker loader by movement directly in line with it, andthe wall arrangement of the body provides for this. The rear ends of the bottom plates I1 are turnedI down slightly at 25, to insure against interference with the bottom of a shuttle car moving into discharge position. Moreover, the rearward end of the main body portion 2 and the rearward portions of the side edges thereof do not have sidev walls associated with them when coal delivery is to be over the rear end. The greater length of'v the main body portion 2 is provided with side walls, however, as is also the frontv or throat portion 3. These side walls are provided for the plural purposes of increasing the receiving capacity, preventing spillage, and causing the coal to be moved into line with, and therefore, be discharged through, the discharge passage section 22'. Considering lirst the walls 26, 26 at the opposite sides of body portion 2, it willv be noted that these are parallel to each other and vertical, from the forward ends of the plates- I1, I1 rearwardly for something over half the lengths of their respective plates. The upper sections of the vertical walls 26 then divergev rearwardly as at 21, 21 and again become parallel as at 23, 28. Oblique, triangular plate sections 29, 29 are secured at two edges respectively to the wall portions 26 and 21 and to inwardly sloping sections 3), 36 extending from the plates I1, I 1 to the wall sections 28, 28. Thus capacity is increased, movement of any coal standing on the sloping sections 29, 29 and 30, 36 into the space between the walls 26, 26 is assured, and the lodging of wet lines in any pockets coming to'sharp corners is avoided.

To prevent escape of coal over the top of the vertical side walls 26, 26, as the coal commences to back up as later described, inwardly sloping wall portions 3I, 3I may be secured to the' tops of the forward portions of said'vertical walls.

The forward' body portion 3, hingedly connected to the main body portion 2, as previously described, narrows from the full width of the forward end of the body portion 2 to the relatively narrowwidth of the entrance to the discharge passage portion 2'2. The latter is of a substantially uniform width for a substantial distance from its rear end,` and is integrally connected tol the narrow forward end of the tapered section of thelforward4 body yportion 3?.

Th'efportion3fhasivertical side iwallportions; 36, which converge from the forward ends "oftheL vertical walls 26, 26 rather gradually, and' these--` latter at 39, 39, and along' onehigher edgeare=- joined at 40, 40 to the wall portions 31, 31-while their other higher edges are joined at 4t", 4I to a sloping edge of the vertical plates 36,-v 36 whose remaining lower edge portions aresecuredv at 42, 42 to the bottom plate plate 36. Sloping plate portions'd', 46 comprising-'angula-rly related parts 45, 45 and 46, 46are arranged at the-tops of thevertical wall portions 36, 36 and 31,` 31,' and partsl 46, 46 are connected at theirforward ends to the side board portions 41, 61v on the delivery trough, while the parts 45, 65 are connected to the wall portions 36, 36, and the junction between the parts 45, 45 and 66, 46 is alongv lines- 48, 4B extending transversely from the top of the line of junction of the vertical wall portionsrv 36, 36 and 31, 31. The forward-endof the delivery section 22 narrows at its lower portionto conform to the shape of the trough line-4' to`v which it is bolted. Vertical side walls 49 are narrowed to shallow strips 56, 59 at their tops and are connected at the forward end of the delivery section to sloping plates 5I, 5I, whose bottom edges are joined at 52, 5'2 to the narrowed forward end 53 ofthe bottom plate 38'. Triangular plates 56, 56 are connected along oblique lines 55, 55 to the plate section 53 and also to the plates 5I, 5I and tothe parallel side plates of thev discharge. These oblique plates prevent wet dust' from lodging in any corners and divert'the coal into the narrow-bottomed forward end of the delivery passage. Sloping side board portions'` 41, 41 are carried by the tops of the side walls 49 and connected with the side board por'- tions 46, 46. Gusset plates 59, 59 are arranged at the opposite outer sides of the body portion 3 to stiften the construction and enable it to stand up under the severe punishment that the heavy masses of coal thrusting against the walls 3.1 and 36, and the walls 36 impose on the structure. These are welded, as shown, along the outside of the junction of plates 31 and 46, extended obliquely downward along the outside of the side plates, to which they are welded, and terminate at the junction point of the side plates, the bottom plate, and the oblique triangular plates 54, 54.

A gate or choke device 66, in the form of a choke plate 6I, whose rearward end is hinged at 62 to the bottom plate 36 is swingable upwardly about this hinge connection, and is adapted to be fixed in various angular positions by a rod or long bolt 63 received in holes 66 arranged in arcuate series in the vertical walls 69, 66, and in tubular elements 65 xed to the bottoni of the front end of the choke plate 6I; Flanges 66, 66 outwardly sloping from the tops of the upright side walls serve as spill boards to prevent spillage of coalin the event the passage 22 is over-filled.

At the forward ends of the side walls 26, 26 of the main body 2 there are upright, inwardly bent anges 61 which cooperate with the side plates 36 in preventing escape of coal at therelatively movablewalls` overlying, the hinge.` Anti-,-A

spread bars G8, 68 are welded on the upper edges of the outer sides of the plates 26, and prevent the rearward edges of the plates 36 from spreading under the action of the coal upon the reversals of movementI which occur as the rapidly accelerated rearward movements of the body take place. Bolts may be passed through holes B8 in the anti-spread bars 68, in the anges 61 and in the plates 36 to lock the main body portion 2 and throat portion 3 rigidly together when desired.

The ball frames previously described are secured to the bottoms of the body portions 2 and 3 by T-shapes 68 welded to the bottom plates I1, I1 and 38 respectively, and arranged and held between the uprights of angles 64, secured to the tops of the ball frames. There are four ball frames in a rectangular arrangement, beneath the body portion 2, two beneath each lateral half, and there is a single, centrally disposed ball frame beneath the body portion 3.

The bottoms of the body portions of the discharge section and of the pan line may all desirably be provided with lag plates having projections for the purpose of promoting their pushing of the coal in a forward direction only. One plate I1 carries a lag plate overlapping the other.

The means for reciprocating or providing a shaker action for the body I and the trough line d may assume different forms, and actuation may not only be directly by shaker drive mechanism such as the one shown at E, but may also be by actuating forces from the conveyor line which the shaker feeder feeds, as shown in Figs. l and il where the belt conveyor 1d, to which the end of the trough line i discharges, has a relatively heavy guide roll 1I-heavy enough to perform a flywheel function, and this roll, through belt 12 or other suitable driving connections, operates a shaker spring and lever mechanism 13 similar to the corresponding parts of the mechanism 3. Obviously it would also be possible to effect drive of the shaker feeder through a bell crank operated by a shaker conveyor line receiving the discharge from the shaker feeder, when the latter is delivering material to an angularly related shaker conveyor system. For an illustration of this, see Fig. 15.

It is, of course, understood that Vwhere serially arranged conveying devices are employed means is provided of such nature that derangement of any subsequent conveyor section or element effects automatic interruption of the operation of the preceding devices in the path of material movement; and, while such a mechanism per se forms no part of my invention, a control of this kind may commonly be used with it,

The mode of operation of my invention will be readily understood from the description of its construction which has been given. Referring to the embodiment shown in detail in Figs. 1 and 8 and in operation in Figure 9, and referring momentarily rst to the View of Figure 9, it will be noted that the body I delivers material to the trough line d, and, with its trough line 4, is actuated by the shaker drive mechanism IS, and discharges to a belt line or other suitable conveyor sytem (though it might also discharge to cars), and that a shuttle car 15 is in a position with its discharge end 16 overlying the rearward end of the body portion 2. of overlap may be 18 inches or more, and because the shuttle car, in discharging its contents rather rapidly, imparts a substantial momentum In practice the amount .8 to'th'e material, and because the conveyor discharge is usually well above the bottom of the body I, there will be a very good distribution of the mass of material over the bottom of the body I, a portion of the material landing ordinarily as far back as the most widely separated walls 28 and being distributed quickly entirely over the body bottom. Desirably the body I will be in motion as the material is being dumped onto the body bottom from the shuttle car or the like, but this is not necessary, as the apparatus is capable of being fully loaded with the contents of a shuttle car and still be set into motion and unloaded although it'may be stationary at the moment of material discharge upon it.

As the body is moved alternately smoothly and at a slow velocity in the forward direction and more rapidly and with sharp acceleration in a rearward direction, the material contained in the body will be bodily moved with the latter 0n the forward motions of the body and will tend to be stationary, or even to continue its forward motion, while the body bottom is shoved sharply beneath it in the rearward direction. As the mass of coal moves forward it spreads over the full width of the body, and as it moves forward the central portion of the mass must move ahead in order that loading may occur. Whether the entire central band of coal moves out first or whether, more probably, the forward central portion moves out and the coal from the wide sections moves into the edges of `the central more rapidly moving mass, in any event, there will be a substantial control of velocity inherent in the general design, because the working of the mass on itself will measurably retard the edges at least oi the portions which are traveling into the discharge passage. This will not be adequate ordinarily to provide the desired limitation on veloc ity, and reliance may be placed on the restriction of the speed o-f movement by requiring the coal to move up a gradient on its way to discharge. 1For example, the choke plate may be adjusted to retard flow.

The convergence of the side walls constitutes an inbuilt control of, or at least restriction of, discharge rate, and it maybe said that a substantial control of the speed of discharge is built into the design of the body by the proper inclination and proper angles of the inclined surfaces heretofore described. Moreover, when loading with a very closeecoupled relation of the shaker feeder to the shaker drive E, there will be a considerable inclination of the forward discharge section or throat 3 of the main body I, and this inclination, supplemented perhaps by some inclination of the choke plate, will also operate to provide a reduction in the speed of discharge. While absolute prediction of precise arrangements is impossible in view of the varying nature of the coal to be discharged, its wetness or dryness, and other factors, it may be said that in some cases neither inclination of the throat nor tilting of the choke plate will be necessary to maintain the desired control of discharge velocity. In other cases, where the entire body I is horizontal, various inclinations of the choke plate may be indicated, and where the body is close to the shaker drive mechanism 6 the inclination of the throat or forward portion 3 of the body may at times provide all of the retarding effect necessary, but it may be supplemented by the action of the choke plate. n general it may be expected that as the distance between the body I and the drive 6 reduces the tilt of the throat 3, there will be '9 likelyto be ,increased need for reliance onthe retarding action obtained by the lifting of the end of :the choke plate.

As previously indicated, flanges 61 cooperate with the plates 3B in preventing the escape of material through the adjustable lit between the main body and throat sections, and the antispread bars preclude the spreading of the side walls of the throat portion as the heavy mass of coal entering the tapering space in the throat section tends to force said walls apart.

The ball frames which underlie the body and -the throat section provide for the very smooth and easy reciprocation of the parts which they support, and when the throat section is tilted upwardly theball frame 1 which underlies it in its theninclined position will be blocked up. It will be understood that while the mechanism is very ruggedly built there is in all shaker conveyor vequipment a certain degree of play which makes unnecessary any special hook-up with respect Yto the. forward ball frame when the same is blocked up.

When it is desirable to change the position of the loading station it is simply necessary to disconnect the shaker feeder from the drive 6, or, if there areintervening trough sections, from the closest trough section, and by connecting a shuttle car, by means of a chain or cable to the body I, as to eyes 11 in the bottom plates of the body I, the entire shaker feeder can be drawn to its desired new position. The ball frames slide freely, due to the up-tilted ends of their skid plates, during this bodily movement.

The mode of operation of the arrangement of Figs. and 11 `differs from that which has been perhaps more fully explained only in such details as result from the fact that the discharge trough extends in the same direction with the conveyor 10 and discharges longitudinally of it instead of transversely to it, and that the power for the shaker feeder is transmitted through the belt 10 to the heavy roller 1| and by the latter to the arm and spring shaker mechanism 13.

In Figures 12, 13 and 14, I have illustrated another modification of my invention in its broader aspects, in which modification there is no Apivotal connection between main body and throat sections; instead the entire shaker feeder, from rits end over which material is dumped to its other end, is one rigid unit, and in which modification there is wholly inbuilt the rate of discharge control, and no adjustable choke plate or equivalent adjustable device is incorporated. This modification is illustrated (see Fig. with actuation through a bell crank from a transversely extending shaker conveyor line to which it' lsishown discharging;

In order that this shaker loader can be taken into themine with less difficulty, it is made in three separable parts: two body portions, 8| and 82, cooperating to f-orm a material receiving body 83, and a throat or -delivery section 94. The body portions 8| and 82 may have angle irons 85 Welded or otherwise suitably secured along their edges Whichadjoin each other when the body 83 is assembled and which are adapted to have their vertical flange porti-ons 86 bolted together as at 81. The throat section 80 is adapted to be bolted to the body .portion 83 by bolts 88 extending through the bores of shortpipe sections or the like 89 and 89 respectively secured, as by weld ingftoside walls 9|V and 92 extending along the outerfsideszof the bodylportion 83 yand throat section 84. An'arigle iron y90 is welded to the- `It) bottom'of the throatsection 84 and underlies the forward'ends of the bottoms of the .body portions 8| an-d 82. The side walls 9| are provided to increase the receiving capacity of the body portion 83, and both the side walls 9| and 92 are provided tovavoid material escape over the sides of the feeder. Moreover major portions of the side walls 9| and 92 serve lto direct the material towards the discharge from Vthe rthroat section 84.

The side walls .9| conform to the edges of the body portion V|33; and the latter has parallel, widely spaced edges93at its receiving end upon which parallel portions94 ofthe side walls 9| are mounted. 'The portion of the body portion 83 towards the throatportion `84 has converging edges 95 upon which converging portions96 of the walls. 9| are` mounted. 'The .throat .section 84 has converging edges, 91 throughout. most of its length and terminates 'in a relatively short parallel-edged portion 931; and the sidewalls 92 comprise upright converging sections99 extending to the portion 98 and .parallel upright sections |00 alo-ng the sides of theportion 98. The spacing betweenthe walls |00 is such as .toprovide a.v passage |0| of suitable width todischarge onto .a conveyor trough |02. It will be observed that aninclined'triangular plate'section |04 connects the bottoms 'of thewall .sections 99v with the side edges 91, which form a larger included angle than the dihedral angle between the/upright side walls v92. Similarly', inclined plate'sections |05 connect the bottom edges of theupright wall sections |00 with the relatively narrow plate |03 which forms the bottom of the portion 98, the plate sections |04 and |05 being, as desired, integrally formed with each other vor welded together. As above stated, the main bottom plate section |01 of the throat portion 84 h'as'its edges leading to the plate portionY |06 converging more rapidly than the upright walls 92.

To control the rate of discharge, a central upright plow-like obstruction in the form of plates ||2 making a right angle with each other and with the edge lf3 of the angle directed against the moving mass of coal on its Way to the discharge, is arranged in the throat section 84, :being welded or otherwise suitably secured near the wide end of the plate |01, to the latter. 'Two other lflow rdirecting plates l5, ||5 are suitably secured, as by welding', vto the side plates 92, V|04 and tothe "bottom plate I|01, and Yconverge much more vrapidly than the side plates 92.

The top edges of the plates 92 and of the 'plates ||5 support .inwardly sloping (inclined) vplate sections ||6 and |"|1 respectively, which prevent upwardcoal escape over the top of these upright plate sections, as the forwardly thrusting mass of coalforced by the converging walls into a constantly vnarrowing stream tends to overflow the tops of the walls. These platesections I5 and ||1 direct the upwardly thrust coal back towards the center line of thefeeder.

A bell crank |20 pivoted on a jack |2| transmits` shaker motion from the main line troughing to the pivotal connection |22 fixed as shown to the trough line |23 which is bolted at |24 to the forward end of discharge Vsection 98. SeeHF'i-gure 14.

Four ball frames, |25, |20, |21, and |-28,-are disposed in rectangular arrangement under y.the body portion 83, andone, |29, laterally centrally, butnear the forward end, of the ,throatv .section84.r

The mode .of operationof this *embodimentsof the-inventionis essentially asfollows. 'Ihemain line troughing transmits through the bell crank Y |20 movements to the shaker feeder consisting of alternate relatively slow and smooth movements in the direction of discharge and faster, sharply accelerated movements in the opposite direction. As a result coal discharged at a relatively rapid rate onto the body portion 83 is rapidly spread forwardly over the entire bottom area and fed in steps of several inches each towards the discharge. Tothe prevention of a rate of discharge such as to exceed the carrying capacity of the trough line, the converging side walls, the obstructer III, and the .plates H will all contribute. The plates H5 may be considered as a metering device-a Weir, if such a term can be used with reference to so un-uniform a stream as shot and loaded coal. The device lll will restrict the width of the passages at its sides and obstruct and deflect the central course of the coal, and the converging side walls will frictionally retard coal movement and through forcing the lateral portions of the mass towards the center will contribute to the avoidance of excessive rates of discharge. It will also be noted that the freedom of the columns of coal to expand behind the device Il I will permit a further reduction in the rate of coal movement between the device I l l and the plates H5. With coal without too large lumps this particular arrangement can do a very efficient job of feeding coal rapidly received from a shuttle car or the like to a trough line at a unit rate calculatedV to utilize the trough line at maximum efciency,

A point worth noting with respect to my invention in its embodiments driven through a spring and arm shaker drive is that the power consumed thereby and the wear and tear on it are both directly-proportional to the coal being loaded. When a load of several tons is deposited in a matter of a relatively few seconds upon the bed of the receiving hopper, the springs of the shaker drive undergo relatively heavy compressions and the throwing action of the shaker loader is very pronounced and the rate of material movements high. As the coal is all gotten onto the trough line and the load on the latter diminishes as the coal is delivered to the belt conveyor or the like, the spring compression is diminished, and if the shaker feeder gets its entire load discharged, then the springs do not compress markedly at all, and the motion of the receiving body and of the delivery trough section becomes merely one of uniform reciprocation, thus saving not only power but also wear and tear on the equipment. Y

The advantages of my invention and the features which cause it to provide a superior action have been so fully discussed above that a recapitulation at this point is unnecessary. Each of the embodiments very effectively meets the conditions for which it is especially designed, and in all embodiments thereof coal (or other material) may be received in ratherlarge quantities in very short periods of time and be fed out to a desired point of discharge over a longer period of time and at a reduced rate, and the discharge rate may, in the embodiment of my invention first described, be adiusted torprovide uniform discharge rates suited .to widely varying conditions.

While I have in this application specifically described two forms and various modifications which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that these forms and modications are shown for` purposes of illustration and that the invention may be further modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y

l. A shaker conveyor feeder for receiving material periodically in large volumes and feeding it gradually to a shaker conveyor line, said feeder comprising, Vin combination, a material receiving body terminating in a relatively narrow discharge trough section and open at its top throughout its length for the reception of material, means for reciprocating said body and discharge trough section imparting to them relatively slow, smooth movements in the direction in which said trough section extends from said body and relatively sharply accelerated, more rapid movements in the opposite direction, in alternation, means for supporting said body and discharge trough section for such reciprocation, material deflecting means carried by and xed with respect to and forming a part of said body for directing material on said body from the side portions thereof toi wards the center thereof, and ultimately into the width of the shaker conveyor line, as such material is moved by the action thereon of said body, and means for requiring material to ascend a gradient to limit the rate of discharge thereof, the depth of said body between said material deflecting means substantially exceeding the depth of the shaker conveyor line.

2. The combination dened in claim 1 in which the means for requiring material to ascend a gradient includes an upwardly tiltable plate at the mouth of said discharge trough section.

3. Apparatus for receiving coal from a shuttle car and for` transferring coal so received at a slower unit rate to a point of delivery, including a relatively wide coal receiving body, a relatively narrow pan line extending from said body to a point of delivery, said body and said pan line both open-at their tops, means for effecting a restriction in the rate of ow Vof coal from said body to said point including an angularly adjustable gate swingable upwards at its forward end about a horizontal axis and positioned to be traversed by the coal before it leaves said body and reaches said pan line, and means for actuating said pan line and said body including means for imparting to both of them alternate fast rearward movements and slower forward movements.

4. Apparatus for receiving coal from a shuttle car and for transferring coal so received at a slower unit rate to a point of delivery, including a relatively wide coal receivingbody, open at its top and having a forward and a rearward portion, a relatively narrow pan line extending from said body to a point of delivery, the forward portion of said body connected to the rearward portion thereof ona horizontal transverse pivot and tilted upward relative to said rearward portion andY having laterally `converging walls and secured to said pan line, the lateral convergence of said walls and upward tilt of the forward portion of said body about said horizontal pivot coacting to restrict the rate of flow of coal from said body to said pan line, and means for actuating said pan line and said body including means for imparting 'to both of them alternate fastV rearward movements and slower forward movements. Y

5. A shaker conveyor feeder comprising, in combination, a material receiving body having a rslatvely Wide material receiving compartment movement, `and vmeans moving with, but stationarylwith respect to, said :bod-vas the latterrecipnrocates.rand.adjustable .with respect to the. latter tofprovide a slope inthe'bottom thereofiand arranged .at thepoint. ofentry "of material Ytosaid `parallel walled. dischargechannel for limiting the frate-,of ilow into the same.

$6..;-.In.za .shaker .conveyor ,feeder for .receiving material atv a. rapid rate 'from material transport 4cars-iandfdelivering .itto a point .of discharge at Aa 1 slower rate, .a umaterial.-receiving trough. havv ing atitsrear end a .fiat .bottom portionextend- ,fing for Ythe.. ful1,.n1aterial receiving width .thereof 'z-and,;b.oth 1laterally.andat itsrear, free of 4walls .lzobstructingmovementinwardly.across its'borders zin;planes.close,to...its-,upper.surface, said. trough h'aving forwardlyof. said rear flatbottom ,portion side.wallsiincluding.parallel upright portions and,

.lforwardof .such .parallel portions, portions convergingxtowardsa .dischargev opening, and .means for impartingareciprocating shaker motion to :said trough, .said .receiving vtrough being'wider thanthezdischargeof a material transport car from which itisdeSignei.toreceive material and having, "by reason of the Vabsence of Walls iat Yi-tsrearend,.its upper surface accessible tothe `discharge of. such a car when the latter'is in alignment with .the .longitudinal center line of .said trough, or obliquetosaid center line, or has Vitsiown centerto one side of said last mentioned :center -line, .and supporting means for said :trough .formaintainingit so low` as to have the 'bottom ofi'such .acar overlie it, when such car and said feeder are .supported on surfaces in a common plane.

7."In=a shaker conveyorlfeeder, a body having y=a lrnainportion for receiving material and hav- -ing a' front discharge portion, said portions sep1 arately movable intoa mine, and means for con- -necting'sai'd portions for use in the mine, Vsaid main portion comprising a pair of initially mutually separate lateral halves and said front discharge portion being of unitary construction for its full width at its end nearer said main portion, said lateral halves being rigidly connected together when said body is assembled, means for hingedly connecting said discharge portion to the forward ends of said rigidly connected lateral halves in a position with like portions thereof opposite each of said lateral halves, and means for guiding and supporting each of said lateral halves and said discharge portion for reciproca-tion as a unit, in a path extending longitudinally of said body.

8. In a shaker conveyor feeder, a body having a main portion for receiving material and having a front discharge portion, the latter diminishing in Width forwardly, said portions separately moveable into a mine, one of said portions comprising a pair of lateral halves rigidly connected together when said body is assembled and the other being at one end at least substantially of the full combined width of the adjacent ends of said lateral halves and hingedly connected to both of said rigidly connected lateral halves, and ball frames underlying each of said lateral halves and said hingedly connected portion respectively and having their guideways arranged lengthwise of said body whereby the latter is reciprocable longitudinally as a unit.

14 19.. rIn `ashaker conveyorl'feeder, :a materialereceiving mainbodysectioma throat section to and over `whichmaterial is dischargeable, means .for

.optionally vrigidly .connecting saisi sections .together or ,hingedly connecting them together upon a horizontal transverse axis said sections. in

each case having their longitudinal axesparallel to a vertical plane extending longitudinally ther.eof,aand means for imparting to both of such sections as a .unit la shaker type of vreciprocation ina direction longitudinal thereof.

1). In ashaker conveyor feeder, a material-receiving main .body section, a throat section to and over :which material vis dischargeable, each vof said sections having bottom andv side walls, means v'for connecting Ae'sai sections including ,a rpivotal Vconnection :between said .bottoms .and `spreadlimiting sliding .connections between/fthe top portions 'of said vside walls', and .means `for .imparting a shakingm'otionftosaid sections in a direction longitudinal' thereof .toleiect 'theirreciprocation horizontally` as aunit.

`11. A shaker .conveyor `feeder comprising ra bodyportion presenting' a wide,substantiallyfflat, material-receiving Vbottom surface and having between its ends, upstanding, initially Widely spaced,1then inwardly converging, wall portions, and having relatively parallel upstanding Walls `extendingfroinsaid converging walls `to itsforward end, anda lforward portion having upstandingconvergingfwalls and c'onnectedto said Tbody portion, vsaid'forward portionhaving a discharge passage section at its-.en-d'reniote fromsaid .body portion.

l2. in 'a-Shaker conveyorfeeder device, ainaterial-receiving body and a relatively narrow. discharge passage forming vrneansrneans for supporting the same :for reciprocation together,

-means for .imparting a reciprocatory movement to the same including relatively smooth forward `movements and relatively sharply accelerated backward movements, and means for controlling therate of material delivery by said shaker conveyor feederdevice including a choke platearranged at the .rearward end of said 'relatively .narrow :discharge passage forming means and having its rearwardend pivote@ and its forward end upwardly swingable, and means for underlying and supporting said forward end selectively at a number of dinerent'xed heights.

13. In a shaker conveyor feeder, a body having a main portion for receiving material and having a front discharge portion, said portions separately movable into a mine, and means for connecting said portions for use in the mine. said main portion comprising a pair of lateral halves and said discharge portion being, at its own end adjacent said main portion, of the full width of the adjacent end of said main portion, said lateral halves being rigidly connected together wh-en said body is assembled, means for hingedly connecting said discharge portion to the forward ends of said rigidly connected lateral halves, supplemental means for effecting rigid connection between said discharge portion and said main portion, and guides, including relan tively reciproca-ble elements respectively adapted to rest upon a subie-cent surface and secured to and supporting said body, for guiding said body for horizontal reciprocation, each of said portions having certain of said guides underlying it.

14. A shaker conveyor feeder for intermittently receiving material in considerable volume from mine transport vehicles and for feeding it, so

long as it is available, to a shaker conveyor trough line, said feeder comprising an open topped body having beneath the same ball frames, including ball frames at its forwardmost end and ball frames at its rearward end, said body having an open rear end, and wide at its rearward end, and at its forward end of substantially the width of the shaker conveyor trough line, and having side walls considerably higher than the depth of the trough line and having converging portions for crowding material upon said body towards the center line of the latter as it moves therealong, and means for moving said body forwardly to carry with it a superimposed load of material, and rearwardly, at a more rapid rate, beneath the superimposed load.

15. In a shaker conveyor feeder, a body having a main portion for receiving material and having a front discharge portion, said portions separately movable into a mine, and means for connecting said portions for use in the mine, one of said portions comprising a pair of initially mutually separate lateral halves and the other being,V

at its end nearer said halves, unitary throughout its full width, said lateral halves being rigidly connected together When said body is assembled, means for hingedly connecting said other portion to the adjacent ends of said rigidly connected lateral halves, including hinge connections with each of said halves, supplemental means for effecting rigid connection between said portions, and guides, including relatively recprocable elements respectively adapted to rest upon a subjacent surface and secured to and supporting said body, for guiding said body for horizontal reciprocation, each of said portions having certain of said guides underlying it.

16. In a shaker conveyor feeder, material receiving and discharge devices forming a plurality of side-walled transverse zones each disposed half at either side of the longitudinal center line of said material receiving and discharge devices and each connected by converging wall portions with a narrower zone forward of it, each of said converging wall portions including a sloping polygonal plate having a horizontal edge oblique to said center line for avoiding sharp corners in which material could collect.

CHARLES NEWTON BEBINGER.

16 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Kneisly Dec. 24, 1872 Thompson Aug. 17, 1897 Campbell June 12, 1900 Briggs Dec. 27, 1904 Carney Dec. 28, 1909 Lucas Nov. 22, 1910 Thompson July 23, 1912 Dodge Jan. 26, 1915 Elck Aug. 29, 1916 Wall Nov. 14, 1916 Lucas Jan. 16, 1917 Holley Sept. 24, 1918 Krehbiel May 6, 1924 Sklenar Nov. 12, 1929 Petersen et al Aug. 12, 1930 Skinner Jan. 20, 1931 Worst June 16, 1931 Weitz Aug. 11, 1931 Fox Nov. 3, 1931 Bebinger July 28, 1936 Bergmann Feb. 18, 1941 Bebinger Jan. 20, 1942 Bergmann June 2, 1942 Durning Feb. 16, 1943 Dudley Aug. 10, 1943 Rapp Oct. 26, 1943 Muskat Dec. 14, 1943 Smely Nov. 21,1944 Fiddyment Aug. 10, 1948 Kohout Dec. 27, 1949 Murray Apr. 11, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain July 10, 1920 Great Britain Feb. 19, 1931 Australia Oct. 25, 1928 France June 11, 1927 

